Bottle carrier



Jan. 15, 1963 H. BAKER ETAL 4 BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Feb. 2, 1960 3Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS.

Jan. 15, 1963 H. BAKER ETAL 3,073,644

BOTTLE CARRIER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 h-rme eys.

Jan. 15, 1963 BAKER ETAL 3,073,644

' BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Feb. 2, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Arr-beans.

3,073,644 BQTTLE CAREER Harry L. Baker and William 0. Maurer,Cincinnati, @hio; said lvlaurer assiguor to said Baker File-d Feb. 2,1960, Set. No. 6,253 Claims. (Ci. 294-87.2)

This invention relates to bottle carriers and more particularly tobottle carriers of the type having an apertured panel through whichbottle necks pass and pivotal flaps which engage the necks of thebottles to secure them to the panel.

This general type of bottle carrier has been known for many years. Nonehas, however, enjoyed significant commercial success, principallybecause of the failure of prior designs to meet the several criterianecessary for widespread adoption. To be successful, a bottle carriermust be rugged enough to withstand handling during application tobottles at the bottling plant, distribution to retail outlets and thecarrying of bottles from the retail outlet to the consumer and back tothe retail outlet.

It is also important that the bottle carrier be susceptible of use in anautomatic machine for applying the carrier to bottles in a productionline. Thus, the bottle carrier must be capable of being simply andreliably fitted into position with respect to the bottles by automaticpackaging machines.

"In addition to those attributes noted above, it is necessary that thebottle carrier be inexpensive to manufacture.

The feature of ruggedness has been the most ditiicult to attain. Priorpaperboard designs have been too weak to withstand the rigors of normalusage or have been unnecessarily complex. While complexity might add tothe strength of a carrier, it increases the cost of manufacture to theextent that the carrier is priced out of the market. Several priorattempts have been made to design metal carriers. Metal carriers,however, have been too expensive for practical carriers of bottledbeverages.

It has been'an objective of the present invention to provide apaperboard carrier constructed from a one piece blank, the carrierhaving the desired attributes of ruggedness and cost economy.

It has been another objective of the invention to provide a bottlecarrier constructed from a one-piece blank which can be cut, folded andglued or stapled by existing package-making machinery so that acompleted and glued article can be-shipped flat, ready for applicationto a bottler. By providing a glued or stapled article the possibility ofthe carrier coming loose or disarranged in the hands of the bottler,shipper, retailer or consumer is avoided.

It has been another objective of the invention to provide a paperboardcarrier from a one-piece blank having integral reinforcing means whichgreatly adds to the strength of the carrier.

'It has been still another objective of the invention to provide abottle carrier having an improved bottle neck locking flap which isstruck from a one-piece paperboard blank and which is resiliently biasedtoward a bottle neck engaging position by the resilience of the materialfrom which it is struck.

It has been yet another objective of the invention to provide a bottlecarrier constructed from corrugated paperboard in which the directionthat the corrugations run is utilized to provide maximum resistance tobending of the carrier under the strain of a load of bottles.

It has been another objective of the invention to provide a bottlecarrier having an integral handle connected to the body of the carrierin such a manner as to provide maximum resistance to bending of thecarrier under the strain of a load of bottles.

t'ts tent It has been still another objective of the invention toprovide a spacer plate having expansible apertures for frictionallygripping the bodies of bottles to space them from each other when thecarrier is applied. In use this combination provides a complete packagein which the spacer plate serves not only to separate the bottle but tostabilize them thereby preventing their swinging with respect to thecarrier.

These and other objectives of the invention will become more readilyapparent from the following detailed description of the invention takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a spacer for bottles to which the carrieris applied;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a one-piece blank in which the carrier isconstructed;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a first folding operation;

FIG. tion;

- FIG. rier;

FIG. of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 showing the carrier in its carryingposition with respect to a bottle;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 9-9 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view taken along lines Iii-4t of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 5 is a perspectiveview of a second folding opera- 6 is a top plan view of the completedbottle car- 7 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 7-7 11-11 ofFIG. 3; and

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the neck locking tab ofthe bottle carrier.

Referring to FIG. 1 a bottle carrier 29 is shown mounted in carryingposition with respect to a bottle 21. The bottle carrier has a bodyportion 22 having a plurality of apertures 23, six apertures being shownin the preferred form of the invention. Slightly overlapping theapertures 23 are locking .flaps 24- which are hinged to the bottom ofthe body portion 22 along lines 25. A handle 26 is integral with thebody portion 22 and projects perpendicularly from the center portionthereof.

The invention also providesa'spacer plate 30 having a plurality ofapertures 31 of a size for frictional engagement of the bodies of thebottles carried by the carrier. Functionally, the spacer platefidmaintains the bottles spaced from each other so that, as they are beingcarried, the bottles will not knockagainst one another, and.

the bottles will be stabilized against swinging'with respect to thecarrier.

The bottle carrier is formed from a one-piece blank shown in FIG. 3. Theblank is preferably formed from waterproof corrugated paperboard inwhich the inner corrugated ply has its ribs extending longitudinally ofthe blank. The one-piece blank has a'center section 33 and The centersection is formed with the desired apertures '37 which, when combinedwith the apertures of the end sections, will form the apertures 23 shownin FIG. 1.

Each end section has a locking flap 24 which is out along a transverseline 38 and along two short longitudi nal lines 39 and is integral withthe end section but is pivotal with respect to the end section alongscoreline 25.

The scoreline 25 and its relationship to the rest of the. blank is shownin greater detail in FIG. 12. It can be seen from FIG. 12 that thescoreline 25 is a depression which cuts through the outer sheet of thecorrugated paper leaving very small transversely extending edge portions40 depressed into the surface of the blank. The depressed portions 40normally bear against each other when the locking flap is raised and,coupled with the tension on the bottom ply, provide the resilience whichwill bias the locking flap toward a return to a position substantiallyin the plane of the carrier, which is the bottle neck gripping position.

It is to be understood that while the preferred form of forming thepivotal joint for the locking fiap has been shown and described above,other forms, such as a simple crease for the joint will functionproperly. However, considerable experimentation indicates that thescoring shown in FIG. 12 provides the most satisfactory results, fromthe standpoint of ease of operation and reliability of performing theneck locking function.

The cut line 38 of the locking flap is indented at three positions 41.The indentations 41 are of a smaller radius than the apertures 37 andprovide the surfaces which engage a neck of a bottle as illustrated inFIG. 1.

The locking flap must be wide enough (from scoreline 25 to cut 38) topermit the consumer to grip the flap and conveniently flex it upwardlyto free the carrier from the bottles. However, the fiap cannot be toowide for when several six packs are stacked, the carrier normally willbe forced down on the diverging walls of the bottles and the flap willbe forced upwardly. A wide flap will be forced upwardly by a greaterangle than a narrow flap. If a flap remains too long at a large verticalangle it will take a permanent set and thereby tend to prevent properengagement of the flap with the bottle necks when the carrier is lifted.A width of inch has been found to be the most satisfactory.

The use of a single elongated flap on each end section to engage oneside of a bottle is preferred to the use of plural elongated fiapsengaging both sides of the bottle or to the use of short individualflaps. While the latter will function, they are not as satisfactory fromthe standpoint of operability by the consumer.

The blank is also cut to form semicircular openings 42 at threepositions adjacent each locking flap, the semicircular openings having aradius equal to the radius of the apertures 37. The semi-circularopenings 42 will match the circular aperture 37 of the center section 33when the end sections are folded over on the center section.

The end portions of each end section are cut along lines 43 to leavereinforcing tabs 44 of about one-half inch width. The end sections arecreased as at 45 on both sides of the blank to provide a pivotal jointfor two handle members 46. The distance between crease 45 and scoreline36 is approximately one-half the width of the center section. Eachhandle member 46 is provided with an elongated opening 47 of sufficientsize to accommodate the fingers of a person carrying the bottles.

The manner in which the blank is folded to form the carrier is bestillustrated by reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. The first operation is thefolding over of a right hand end section 35 as shown in FIG. 4 so thatit lies fiat on the center section 33, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Thehandle member 46 is raised as shown in FIG. 5. Thus, except for the tabs44, the end section 35 covers approximately one-half the center section33 which permits the left hand end section 34 to be folded over onto thecenter section 33 with the crease lines 45 of the handle members 46being adjacent each other and forming the longitudinal center line ofthe carrier. The reinforcing tabs 44 of the end section 34 overlie thereinforcing tabs of end sec tion 35. The overlying of the reinforcingtabs is best illustrated in FIG. 10. The end section 35, except for 4the handle member 46 and locking flap 24, is glued to center section 33.End section 34, except for handle member 46, tabs 44 and locking flap24, is glued to center section 33. Tabs 44 overlie and are glued to endsection 35.

The handle member 46 of end section 34 has a central tab 48 projectinginto the opening 47. (A similar tab may project from end section 35 andlie under end sec tion 34 after folding.) As the end section 44 isfolded into position on the center section 33, the central tab 48projects through the opening 47 of the handle of end sec tion 35 and isadhesively secured to the end section 35 as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and7.

It is to be understood that gluing is preferred in order to permit theproduction of the carrier on existing package-making machinery. However,stapling will provide a functionally satisfactory carrier.

In use, the handle members 46 project vertically as illustrated.However, when the carrier is in storage, for example in the hopper of apositioning machine, the handle members 46 are each folded onto theirrespective end sections so that the complete unit lies fiat for economyof storage.

When applied to a six-pack of bottled beverages, the handles are raisedto their vertical position in part by the natural resilience of thepaperboard. The carrier is forced down over the tops of the bottleswhich project through the apertures 23. The engagement of the tops ofthe bottles with the partially overlying locking flaps 24 causes thelocking flaps to be raised as illustrated in FIG. 7. When in theposition of FIG. 7, the depressed edges 40 (FIG. 12) are in compressedengagement and bias the locking flaps toward their flat position withrespect to the center section 33. As the carrier passes over the bulge50 in the bottle neck, the flaps 24 are free to return to theirsubstantially flat position. A slight upward movement of the bottlecarrier with respect to the bottles brings the identations 41 intoengagement with the bulge in the neck of the bottles and forces thelocking fiaps into tight locking engagement with respect to the bottlenecks.

In addition to the features of the bottle carrier already discussed,several other features should be noted.

When the carrier is completed, with the end sections secured bywaterproof glue or staples to the center section 33, the carrier issubstantially two thicknesses of paperboard. The handle design demandsthat the carrier be no more than substantially two thicknesses, forotherwise it would be impossible to provide for two handle members 46 toabut each other at the center of the carrier. However, by cutting theblank so as to leave the four reinforcing tabs 44, each end of thecarrier is formed of three thicknesses of paperboard adhesively securedto gether, each of the reinforcing tabs being approximately one-halfinch in width.

The overlying center tab 48 which is adhesively secured to the endsection 35 also provides three plies of paperboard at the center of thecarrier. Thus, at the ends and center of the carrier, three plies ofpaperboard are provided which materially increases the overall strengthof the carrier to provide substantial resistance to transverse bowing orbending when the carrier supports the weight of six full bottles. Forexample, by the use of the overlapping tabs 44 and the center tab 48, a200 lb. test paper will have imparted to it the strength of a 600 lb.test paper thereby substantially avoiding any transverse flexing whenthe carrier is used to support six full bottles.

Another important aspect of the reinforcing tabs 44 and center tab 48 isthat without the tabs, the and sections would be pasted to the centersection and, under stress of the bottles, the outer ply of thepaperboard would tend to peel away by the upward pull of the handles onlate the stripping force into a tension force on the rein- It shouldalso be noted that the tabs 44 and the center I tab 48 are all providedwithout requiring any increase in the overall size of the blank fromwhich the carrier is formed. This feature is best demonstrated byreference to FIG. 3.

The direction in which the corrugations of the corrugated paper run areimportant. The greatest resistance to transverse bending is provided bythe use of corrugations which extend longitudinally With respect to theone-piece blank.

Another feature to be noted is the spacing of the scoreline 25 of thelocking flaps from the handle crease 45. If the handle crease 45 and thescoreline 25 were coincident, the locking flaps 24 would have a tendencyto rise when the handles are lifted to their vertical positionillustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. It is, however, important to theoperability of the carrier to have the locking flaps normally urged to afiat position on the center section 33.

Because of the opening in 47 in the handle members 46, there is atendency for a carrier to fiex longitudinally under the strain of filledbottles. By use of fillets 51 in the formation of the opening 47 thelongitudinal resistance to bending is materially increased. Without thefillets, each handle member would engage the carrier along a line, thelength of which is illustrated by bracket 52. By the addition of thefillet, the length of the line engagement of handle member 46 isincreased to the length indicated by the bracket 53.

The spacer plate is illustrated in FIG. 2. It is formed of a one-pieceblank which is cut at six locations just a few degrees short of a fullcircle as at 60 so as to leave a small tab 61 at the uncut portion. Alarger concentric circle is scored as at 62.

A ring 63 is formed by circle 60 and scoreline 62 is cut at the severalpositions 64 around its periphery. The circle 60 leaves a paper-disk 65which is connected to the blank only by the tab 61. The disks 65 couldbe removed from the spacer plate or they can remain on the spacer plateand contain advertising material. The disks 65, if remaining attached tothe spacer plate, can be useful as coasters for the beverages beingserved.

A ring 63 provides a resilient frictional grip sufiicient to maintainthe spacer in proper position with respect to the bottles on which it ismounted. By forming the ring into segments, the spacer will accommodatebottles of diameter ranging from the diameter of circle 60 to thediameter of circle 62. This accommodation is particularly desirable foruse with small and king-size bottles of a single bottler.

In operation, bottles moving down the production line of an averagebottling establishment would be assembled in a six-pack and the spacer30 would be dropped over the top of a six-pack fitted into properposition by automatic machinery. Thereafter the carrier 20 would befitted over the bottle tops. During this operation the handle members46, which were lying flat in storage, would be forced to the verticalposition and the locking of flaps 24 would flex slightly upwardly topermit the carrier to pass over the bottles. When the carrier has passedover the beads 50 in the bottles, the resilience of the locking flappivotal joint will tend to cause the locking flap to return to the flatposition as illustrated in FIG. 8. When in this position, any upwardpull on the handles 26 will cause the locking flaps 24 to form a tightfrictional engagement of the carrier with the bottle necks. Thus, thebottles are ready to be carried to the ultimate consumer destination.

Six-packs with carrier and spacer engaged can be stacked one on top ofthe other. The handle 26 will not be in the way for two reasons. If thecarrier is in its uppermost position with respect to the bottles, thehandle will project up between two adjacent rows of bottles stacked ontop of the lower six-pack. Misalignment will not preti vent stacking,for if the handle 26 is engagedby the bottoms of bottles stacked above,the carrier will merely slide down on the necks of the bottles.

No difiiculty whatsoever attends the release of the bottles from thecarrier. Release is effected merely by pushing the carrier downwardlyuntil the lockingfiaps are spaced from the beads 50 in the necks of thebottles. Thereafter the locking flaps are pivoted upwardly by grippingthem in one hand and the carrier is lifted off the bottles.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. A bottle carrier constructed from an elongated onepiece bl-ank havinga center section and two end sections comprising, a bottom panel formedfrom the center section of said blank, a first half of a top panelformed by a first end section folded over on said center section, asecond half of a top panel formed by a second end section folded over onsaid center section, handle portions integral with each end section andprojecting upwardly therefrom, a strip integral with and extendinglongitudinally along each side of and beyond each end section, thestrips of the first end section underlying the second end section andbeing secured to the center section and the second end section, thestrips of the second end section overlying said first section andbein'g'secured thereto to reinforce said carrier, a tab projecting fromthe central portion of one end section and projecting across and gluedto the other end section to reinforce the center portion of saidcarrier, said panels having plural apertures extending therethrough, andbottleneck gripping flaps pivoted to said carrier and partiallyoverlying said apertures.

2. A bottle carrier constructed from an elongated onepiece blank havinga center section and two end sections comprising, a bottom panel formedfrom the center section of said blank, a first half of a top panelformed by a first end section folded over on said center section, asecond half of a top panel formed by a second end section folded over onsaid center section, handle portions integral with each end section andprojecting upwardly therefrom, a strip integral with and extendinglongitudinally along each side of and beyond each end section, thestrips of the first end section underlying the second end section andbeing secured to the center section and the second end section, thestrips of the second end section overlying said first end section andbeing secured thereto to reinforce said carrier, said panels havingplural apertures extending therethrough, and bottleneck gripping flapspivoted to said carrier and partially overlying said apertures.

3. A bottle carrier constructed from an elongated onepiece blank havinga center section and two end sections comprising, a bottom panel formedfrom the center section of said blank, a first half of a top panelformed by a first end section folded over on said center section, asecond half of a top panel formed by a second end section folded over onsaid center section, handle portions integral with each end section andprojecting upwardly therefrom, reinforcing strips bridging said two endsections and secured to each end section and said center section, saidpanels having plural apertures extending therethrough, and bottleneckgripping flaps pivoted to said carrier and partially overlying saidapertures.

4. A bottle carrier constructed from an elongated onepiece blank havinga center section and two end sections comprising, a bottom panel formedfrom the center section of said blank, a first half of a top panelformed by a first end section folded over on said center section, asecond half of a top panel formed by a second end section folded over onsaid center section, handle portions integral with each end section andprojecting upwardly therefrom, reinforcing strips integral with one endsection extending across to and adhesively secured to each side of thecenter section, reinforcing strips integral with the adjacent endsection extending across to and adhesively secured to each side of saidone end section, said panels having plural apertures extendingtherethrough, and bottleneck grip- U ping flaps pivoted to said carrierand partially overlying said apertures.

5. A bottle carrier constructed from an elongated onepiece blank havinga center section and two end sections comprising, a bottom panel formedfrom the center section of said blank, a first half of a top panelformed by a first end section folded over on said center section, asecond half of a top panel formed by a second end section folded over onsaid center section, means securing said end sections to said centersection, handle portions integral with each end section and projectingupwardly therefrom at the center of said panels, said handle portionshaving matching openings therethrough to receive the fingers of a hand,and fillets formed in the corners of said openings to increase theresistance of said carrier to flexing, reinforcing strips integral withsaid first end section extending across to and adhesively secured toeach side of the center section, reinforcing strips integral with saidsecond end section extending across to and adhesively secured to eachside of said first end section, said panels havingplural aperturesextending therethrough, bottle neck gripping flaps pivoted to saidcarrier and partially overlying said apertures.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,320,440 Kruea et a1 June 1, 1943 2,385,997 Leggett et a1 Oct. 2, 19452,397,716 Wendler Apr. 2, 1946 2,603,923 Chidsey July 22, 1952 2,841,279Forrer July 1, 1958 2,849,112 Forrer Aug. 26, 1958

1. A BOTTLE CARRIER CONSTRUCTED FROM AN ELONGATED ONEPIECE BLANK HAVING A CENTER SECTION AND TWO END SECTIONS COMPRISING, A BOTTOM PANEL FORMED FROM THE CENTER SECTION OF SAID BLANK, A FIRST HALF OF A TOP PANEL FORMED BY A FIRST END SECTION FOLDED OVER ON SAID CENTER SECTION, A SECOND HALF OF A TOP PANEL FORMED BY A SECOND END SECTION FOLDED OVER ON SAID CENTER SECTION, HANDLE PORTIONS INTEGRAL WITH EACH END SECTION AND PROJECTING UPWARDLY THEREFROM, A STRIP INTEGRAL WITH AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY ALONG EACH SIDE OF AND BEYOND EACH END SECTION, THE STRIPS OF THE FIRST END SECTION UNDERLYING THE SECOND END SECTION AND BEING SECURED TO THE CENTER SECTION AND THE SECOND END 